The consortium Spie Sud Est/Yvroud Europeenne des Fluides, Feyzin secured the EUR7.6 million contract for equipment maintenance in the Grand Lyon tunnels, the most important of which are Fourviere (1,850 m), Croix-Rousse (1,750 m), Brotteaux-Servient and Vivier-Merle (336 m). For more, contact Communaute Urbaine de Lyon, fax +33 478 957097, or visit http://marches.grandlyon.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=058386-2010. 11/10...

Gähler und Partner AG of Ennetbaden have secured the EUR2.28 million contract for PM designer for safety refurbishment in 1.14 km-long Mosi tunnel on A4, near Brunnen. Contact OFROU, Zofingen, tel +41 6274575-11, fax -90, e-mail beschaffung.zofingen@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062920-2010. 11/10...

IG BP2, c/o Bänziger Partner AG of Zurich, secured the EUR2.63 million contract from BAMO for 5.7 km-long N3 Kerenzer tunnel. Contact OFROU, Winterthour, tel +41 522344-711, fax -790, e-mail winterthur@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062921-2010. 11/10..

Construction contract for Kuechelberg tunnel awarded to PAC SpA consortium, value EUR34,695,272 excluding VAT. More from PAC in Capo di Ponte, tel +39 0364331037, fax +39 036442303, e-mail info@pacspa.it and client APB in Bozen, tel +39 04714125-14, fax –39, e-mail gare-11.5@provincia.bz.it Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=071475-2010. 11/10...

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA is inviting companies to prequalify for civil engineering work on railway tunnels in Italy. Further information and documents from Iacomino Raffaele at Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato in Milan, tel +39 02637 148-19, fax –20, e-mail dns-qs@rfi.it to whom requests to participate should be sent. Visit

Pre-feasibility study being undertaken by ILF Consulting Engineers for construction of single track railway line along the Karakorum highway between the end of the existing railway network in the south at Havelian and the border between Pakistan and China near the famous Khunjrab Pass in the north.

Prequalification underway by MTR for tender reference no 703 for West Island Line SHW to SYP tunnels value EUR30 million with a view to selective invitations to tender being issued in 4Q/2008 for contract award in 3Q/2009. Expressions of interest to Malcolm O’Neill, tel 3921 3383, e-mail moneill@mtr.com.hk Visit www.mtr.com.hk/eng/tenders/new_projects.html 45/08.

A landslide occurred at around 8:40 a.m. on 20th November, 2007 near the entrance to a railway tunnel and a tributary of the Three Gorges Dam reservoir, in central China's Hubei province. Nearly 4,000 cubic metres of rock plunged onto a highway in Badong county, killing a construction worker busy on the tunnel above the landslide and burying two of his co-workers. Workers had been reinforcing the ceiling of the Yichang-Wanzhou railway tunnel when the landslide happened. The landslide occurred at the entrance of the tunnel further up the hill in Badong, Enshi prefecture. The stone suddenly became loose and soft and then collapsed.

A long-distance bus that just happened to pass that spot at the time of the landslide was buried under giant boulders. It was discovered under rubble on the road three days later. Thirty-two passengers were aboard the vehicle. They all died. Rescuers reached the front of the bus at around 4:00 a.m. on 23rd November but found no signs of life, said sources from China Railway Tunnel Group, the contractor.

The landslide left about 1,000 cubic metres of rubble on National Highway 318, which connects Shanghai and Tibet and is the main route for all motor vehicles in western Hubei. The highway lies 28 metres down the hill from the railway tunnel entrance. More than 740 rescuers worked at the site, clearing up 3,850 cubic metres of debris and 514 tonnes of steel and iron framework.

The accident occurred amid growing criticism of the environmental degradation (erosion, landslides and earth tremors) caused by the dam, a massive engineering project completed in May 2006. As critics predicted, higher water levels appear to have increased the pressure at the base of the cliffs, causing already unstable ground to give way around the reservoir. Since September, a growing number of engineers, dam officials and environmentalists have been predicting a catastrophe unless the central government spends the money to correct erosion and instability caused by the project.

Government officials have insisted that the damage can be controlled and that the benefits of hydropower and flood control far outweigh any environmental damage and the relocation of an estimated 1.2 million people for the project. The site of the accident is about four hours' drive to the dam, the world's largest hydropower project, but there is no evidence at present to suggest that the landslide had been caused by work at the dam or its reservoir, they said.

China Railway Tunnel Group said the landslide might be related to changes in the climate. Four days of rain may have loosened the rock and earth, they said. 52/07-01/08.